


Raising Skywalkers: The Infancy Months

by anecdotalist



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: A potentially serious concept treated like crack, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, It's not overtly Obikin yet but it's hinted at, Kidfic, What if Padme had already given birth to the twins by the time Anakin returned from battle?, silly and fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7895422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anecdotalist/pseuds/anecdotalist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ROTS AU in which Anakin starts dreaming of Padme dying while still on the Outer Rim, Obi-Wan gets recalled to Coruscant early, and when Anakin returns from the Outer Rim, he finds out that he's the father of twins. Cue adorable and hilarious hi-jinks of Jedi attempting to parent.<br/>--------------<br/><i>"Obi-Wan? What's going on? What's that?" he asks hesitantly, making his way more slowly down the rest of the ramp. He's in the right place, right? He doesn't think there were any anomalies when he was in hyperspace that could explain Obi-Wan greeting him with a baby in his arms.</i></p><p>  <i>"This is your son, Anakin. His name is Luke. Please don't make any loud noises or sudden movements. I've only just managed to get him to sleep," Obi-Wan says briskly.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter of Clarity is almost done, I promise. But in the meantime, here's a silly crack-y fic that I hope you'll all like reading as much as I like writing it. The idea came from one of the chapters of Clarity, when I said 'imagine if Padme had already given birth to Luke and Leia by the time Anakin gets back from the Outer Rim, how crazy that he was gone for so long that she got through almost an entire pregnancy with him none the wiser!' And then laurelseas came up with the scene that inspired me to write the fic - I'll tell you what it is at the end because I don't want to spoil you guys. I've posted part of this as a [snippet](http://likealeafonthewind.tumblr.com/post/144625360048/heres-a-snippet-of-the-crackfic-ive-started) on my tumblr, so some of you may already have read part of it but here's the whole first chapter.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The nightmares start when Obi-Wan gets recalled from the Outer Rim for a Council emergency.

"You'll be alright here?" he had asked before boarding the star cruiser, Cody at his shoulder.

"I'll be fine. We'll just wrap things up here and clean up. No problem," Anakin had said. So Obi-Wan had saluted him one more time and then left. That night, the visions started: Padme screaming in pain, drenched in sweat; a baby crying in the background; a medical droid telling someone "There's no reason that I can find for her dying, but we're losing her."

He shouts himself awake, his heart pounding and gasping in air. _It's just a nightmare,_ he tells himself and flops back into bed. But it's no use, he can't go back to sleep that night.

The same thing happens the next night.

And the next.

By the time Obi-Wan's cruiser exits hyperspace near Coruscant and he calls to check in, Anakin's a bleary-eyed mess.

"What's happened?" Obi-Wan asks brusquely.

Anakin opens his mouth to say that nothing's happened and he's fine, but what comes out instead is a jumbled recounting of his nightmares. The details are all out of order and it probably doesn't make any sense at all but Obi-Wan listens intently.

"So at some point, Senator Amidala is going to get pregnant, go into labor, and die," he summarizes succinctly when Anakin's rambling comes to a stop.

Anakin nods miserably.

"Do you know when that might happen?"

Anakin shakes his head in the negative. He has no idea. He's gone over every single second of that dream trying to find clues as to when and where it occurs, to no avail. The main thought circling in his head now is that they can never have children. Part of him mourns that loss but another part that's willing to sacrifice anything for Padme says it's worth it.

"I'll look into it," Obi-Wan promises.

"Okay," he says but he means _thank you_ except that Obi-Wan wouldn't know why he was being thanked and that would just lead to questions that Anakin's not prepared to answer. They finish up the briefing and Anakin returns to battle. There's only one more stronghold they need to take but it's been a tough one to crack. He and Appo put their heads together and come up with a risky plan to get inside.

It's a long campaign. It lasts five days and five nights and all the electromagnetic bombs they use disrupt communications systems planetwide so they're cut off from the rest of the army. He continues getting the nightmares every night but now he can tell himself that Obi-Wan's looking into it and that there isn't anything he himself can do from here and go back to sleep.

When they've cleared out the droids and retaken the hold, he takes a shuttle up to the command ship to report in.

"Anakin, excellent timing. We've been trying to get a hold of you for days."

"What's happened?" he asks, seized with fear.

"Don't worry, I believe we've circumvented the threat to Senator Amidala's life," Obi-Wan says cryptically. "But you're needed back on Coruscant. Can your troopers handle the rest of the cleanup over there?"

"Yeah, 'course they can," Anakin scoffs.

"Good, then make your way back here right away. We'll rendezvous at the Temple."

"Okay," Anakin says and terminates the connection. He has no idea what Obi-Wan had meant about Padme's life but he takes comfort in knowing that something has been done and she's safe. He trusts Obi-Wan; his former Master has never let him down. He'll find out the details when he lands but he knows that he'll be able to rest easy now.

He makes arrangements with Appo and then takes Artoo and a starship and heads home for the first time in five months. Four days of hyperspace travel later, he's looking at the familiar sight of Coruscant from the atmosphere. It looks as it always does - bustling with billions of souls, all of whom are far removed from the terrors of war. He's glad for that, of course, but there's always such a disconnect when he comes back after being on the front for awhile. It always feels like he's entering a different universe, where the war is talked about theoretically but isn't actually happening. It's very surreal and off-putting.

He flies over the city to the Temple landing platform and then he directs Artoo to start the landing sequence. He spots a small party of Jedi and clone troopers through the viewscreen, including Obi-Wan, and smiles. When the ship sets down completely and the ramp lowers, he hurries out, eager to check in and debrief. He stops suddenly at the sight of Obi-Wan waiting for him at the end of the ramp. Or rather, of what Obi-Wan is cradling in his arms: a tiny, humanoid infant.

"Obi-Wan? What's going on? What's that?" he asks hesitantly, making his way more slowly down the rest of the ramp. He's in the right place, right? He doesn't think there were any anomalies when he was in hyperspace that could explain Obi-Wan greeting him with a baby in his arms.

"This is your son, Anakin. His name is Luke. Please don't make any loud noises or sudden movements. I've only just managed to get him to sleep," Obi-Wan says briskly.

Then, before Anakin can do anything more than gape at his former Master, Obi-Wan's shifted the baby into his arms which, luckily, instinctively hold on so that the baby doesn't fall. Obi-Wan frowns at his grip and makes some adjustments so that the baby sits more securely in Anakin's hold.

Anakin looks down and has a moment of panic - the baby has a tiny baby face and tiny baby hands and tiny baby feet. It's so... _tiny_.

"There, good," Obi-Wan pronounces, satisfied. "Your daughter, Leia, is with her mother at the emergency Senate session. The Chancellor's been taken. I'm being deployed with Master Vos and a battalion of clones to rescue him."

"Daughter?" Anakin asks weakly.

"Yes. Twins. She's younger by a minute."

"Padme's...pregnant?" His head is spinning. What's going on? How did that happen without him knowing?

"No, she _was_ pregnant. She's now given birth. To twins. Do try to keep up, Anakin. I don't have much time." Obi-Wan turns and starts walking across the platform to where another starship is waiting. Master Vos waits by the ramp of that one, along with Commander Cody.

"But -"

"The twins were apparently conceived two weeks before we shipped out. I don't think I have to tell you how _that_ could possibly have happened?" Obi-Wan looks at him sardonically. When Anakin remains too stunned to answer, he rolls his eyes and continues. "When I got back to Coruscant, I told Padme of your dreams and she revealed that she was thirty-seven weeks pregnant. We decided that it was safest to assume that your dreams may have in fact been visions of a possible future and induce labor a little early with a team of medics prepped and ready for any emergencies. We tried comming you to let you know but we couldn't get through. We thought it was better to be safe and go through with the procedure anyway. It went fine. She delivered at Coruscant General Hospital a week ago and went right back to work. We've been trading off with the twins but now I'm shipping out and I can't bring Luke with me into battle, obviously, so you'll have to take him. He sleeps a lot. Make sure you warm up his milk properly - test it on the back of your hand first to make sure it's not too hot. Don't forget to burp him after meals. And change his diapers when he gets cranky. Padme didn't know when the Senate would let out so just keep Luke with you until you hear from her. Got it?"

"No?" Anakin says helplessly. He doesn't have it. Not at all. He looks back down at the baby in his arms and can't believe that this is actually his child. _One_ of his child _ren_.

"Great," Obi-Wan says as if he had answered in the affirmative. They've arrived at the bottom of the ramp to the starship and he wants to just grab onto Obi-Wan's robes and keep him from going. "Farewell, my friend," he says and as if those were cursed words, Luke chooses that moment to wake up and start wailing. It's awful. His screams are high pitched and his face gets blotchy from the effort of crying. His arms and legs start flailing and it's all Anakin can do to keep a hold of him.

"Obi-Wan, what do I -?" Anakin asks in a panic.

"Here," Obi-Wan says, and helps shift Luke into an upright position, head resting on Anakin's shoulder. "Now just rock him. Gently." He rubs Luke's back and the baby gradually quiets, sobs fading into hiccups. "There's no need to cry, I'll be back soon."

"Much good that'll do me," Anakin says, wanting to cry a little anyway.

"I was talking to Luke," Obi-Wan says.

"Oh. I should be going with you, though, to rescue the Chancellor. Maybe Master Vos can stay instead and take care of -"

"Oh, nonononono. You keep your...your _children_ away from me," Master Vos says, raising his hands defensively and taking a step back. He says the word 'children' as if he was saying 'gundark'. Anakin frowns.

"Master Vos and children don't really get along. It's nothing personal," Obi-Wan says reassuringly. 

"Ah, no, it's entirely personal with those two," Master Vos calls out. "There's a grand total of one Jedi that your children like, Skywalker, and it's Kenobi. The rest of us can burn on Mustafar for all they care. They're crafty too. They've already finagled their way into Council meetings." He shudders. "I'm pretty sure they're plotting to overthrow Master Yoda and instate Kenobi as the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order."

"Don't be silly," Obi-Wan chides. But he taps Luke on the shoulder and when the baby turns to look at him with a grin, he says seriously, "I don't want that position, you hear? Don't do it." Luke just laughs and stretches out to try to grab onto Obi-Wan's finger.

"Why are you talking to him like he understands you? He's only a week old, isn't he?" Anakin asks uneasily.

"Hmm," Obi-Wan says, which isn't an answer at all. "Well, I'm off."

"May the Force be with you, Master," Anakin says automatically.

Obi-Wan nods. "And with you." Then he and Master Vos board the starship and the ramp recedes. Anakin clamps down on the urge to run up and join them. He pats Luke on the back instead and turns to enter the Temple. Unfortunately, as soon as Luke spots the ship, he starts bawling again. Anakin winces. He's going to lose his hearing at this point.

"Come on, Luke," he murmurs. "Work with me here. We're supposed to be father and son, right? Please don't cry. Especially not because of _ships_. Ships are awesome!" Normally, he would stay and watch the take-off but he doesn't think that would be a good idea now. He hurries into the Temple instead, rubbing Luke's back and making shushing sounds. "What would make a baby stop crying?" he murmurs, wracking his brain. He settles on food because one can't eat and cry at the same time, right?

* * *

....Luke prefers crying, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the scene that laurelseas thought of was the part of Anakin landing on Coruscant to see Obi-Wan with Luke and Obi-Wan handing Luke off to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin faces the Council.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday!
> 
> Have I said yet that this fic shouldn't be taken too seriously? Because....it, er, yeah, kinda leans towards the crack-y fluff-y end of the spectrum. My main hope here is that it'll put a smile on your faces and make you laugh. So here's hoping you guys like this as much as I have liked writing it! And thanks so much to those of you read the first part and are coming back for more! <3

_"Children, Skywalker?!"_ Mace demands the next morning, at the Council meeting that Anakin's pretty sure they've convened for the sole purpose of reading him the riot act and not to get his report on the status of the war at the Outer Rim like they had told him.

Anakin's tired, though. He's been on the front lines of battle for months and then had nightmares on top of that for the past couple of weeks and then, last night when he was finally home, had two crying babies preventing him from sleeping. He can't muster up the energy to do more than snap, "What? It's not like I was _trying_ to get her pregnant! I didn't even know!"

Mace's eye twitches and Yoda closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "You say that like it fixes anything," Mace says evenly.

"Now, Mace," Plo Koon interjects calmly, "we've discussed this already. Such events are not always predictable and in this case, it may be the will of the Force, as Anakin's own birth was. Anakin did not _plan_ on having children, but they're nevertheless here so we must focus on the next step and not on reprimanding him for something he did not mean to do and cannot undo. It is not forbidden for Jedi to have trysts, so long as they are mindful of their level of attachments."

"And _what_ would you consider _children_ to be, if not _attachments_?" Mace fires back.

Only years of biting his tongue (with varying success) in front of the Council keeps Anakin from shouting about how children are more than just attachments to avoid. Only years of keeping his marriage a secret keeps Anakin from adding that while he may not have planned on having children _now_ , that doesn't mean he hasn't thought about having children with Padme in the _future_. He doesn't know if the Council knows about his marriage. No one's brought it up yet. Are they waiting for him to admit to it first? Waiting to see how deep of a hole he digs for himself? Or do they really not know? He wishes he had thought to ask Padme last night. Anakin narrows his eyes at the Masters in the room, trying to divine how much they know or suspect about his marriage. 

"Mace," Ki Adi Mundi chides, "they're _children_. They're the future. They're more than just _attachments_. Do not take such a simplistic view."

"I'm sure that with proper guidance, Anakin can manage his relationship with his children well enough that they would not interfere with his duties to the Order," Koon adds serenely.

"Really," Mace says flatly. He does not sound like he believes Koon at all. He glares at Anakin. "Do you see what you've done?"

Anakin widens his eyes and pretends he doesn't know what Mace is talking about, just to see if he can make Mace's eye twitch again.

It does.

Anakin can't hold back a small amused smile.

"Skywalker!" Mace thunders. "Do you think this is funny? You, having children? _You_. Having _children_."

Now Anakin's starting to feel insulted. What's the problem with _him_ having children?

"The. Chosen. One." Mace says, emphasizing each word like he's spelling it out for a youngling in the creche who's being deliberately dense. "You're supposed to bring balance to the Force! Not throw the Order into chaos! Thanks to your indiscretion, the Jedi are at war with each other. Half the scholars believe that your children are the embodiment of the Force - one for the Light, one for the Dark. The other half think you've derailed the prophecy and thrown the future into a completely unforeseen path. Half the active Knights want to know if the Code will be made more lenient to allow for more children to be born to Jedi. The other half want absolutely nothing to do with children. Nothing. Not even missions where they might encounter a small child because they have been so traumatized by yours. And the younglings now want to know why their parents aren't Jedi Knights too and where they are and if they could visit them. But worst of all - your children have Obi-Wan wrapped around their little fingers. One of the most revered Jedi Masters in the Order and in the Republic and he hasn't been seen without one of the twins since they were born. He brings them to Council meetings. He sits there with them on his lap, feeding them and burping them and rocking them to sleep while arguing for reinforcements to be sent to Master Unduli and relief efforts to be dispatched to Ryloth. He walks with them through the Room of a Thousand Fountains and in the gardens and to the Senate. It is only thanks to his training on stealth maneuvers that he's been able to avoid being caught on holocameras with them."

Anakin eyes Obi-Wan's empty chair and a thought comes to him. "Are you doing this now because Obi-Wan isn't here?"

Mace's eyes narrow. "Obi-Wan knows full well our thoughts on your situation. Bad enough that you got the Senator pregnant but to involve Obi-Wan in all of this too...."

"Wait, what do you mean? I didn't involve him. I didn't ask him to take care of them! I didn't even know they existed until I landed on Coruscant! I just....I just told him about...my dreams of Padme dying."

"Hmph. And drop everything to help you, he did. Your request for assistance, Obi-Wan did not need. Never has he _needed_ a reason to be your partisan," Yoda says disapprovingly.

"You are lucky, Skywalker, that we have matters of greater importance to deal with right now than your infraction. But consider yourself grounded until further notice," Mace intones.

"Grounded?! That's not fair!" Anakin says, feeling anger rising in him. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Grounded, Skywalker," Mace repeats. "We'll discuss this further when we have enough Council members present to make a quorum."

"Do not worry, Anakin," Plo Koon adds with a pointed look at Mace. "We do understand that you did not mean for this to happen. As Obi-Wan had said, the Force works in mysterious ways and we mustn't be quick to discard what it has given to us."

Anakin frowns. "You mean my children? They're not -"

Plo shakes his head. "He meant _you_ , Anakin."

"Oh," Anakin says, dumbfounded.

"Yes," Mace says with a sigh. "Although since he was carrying your child on his lap when he was making that argument, it came across on multiple levels. You are dismissed, Anakin. Go see to your children." He sounds less angry now and more resigned.

Anakin bites his lip and bows. He himself feels more confused now than angry. Obi-Wan had been arguing in his favor? With all the times that he's preached the Code to Anakin over the years, Anakin would have expected him to argue for Anakin being exiled from the Order. But he did seem awfully accepting of the twins in the few minutes they'd all been together before he boarded his ship. Sometimes, Anakin wonders how well he really knows his former Master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently, in the EU, Ki Adi Mundi has a couple of wives and children - he was granted an exception by the Council because his species is endangered. So that's why he's kinda on Anakin's side in this. Also, I figure it's probably not the case that there's never been a Jedi who's gotten pregnant or gotten someone else pregnant even in canon but part of the sticking point with some of the Council members is that Anakin's a pretty high profile Knight both within the Order and out of it so there's gonna be a lot of people watching to see how they deal with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Anakin flails and tries to parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this took awhile. This fic was meant to be updated more frequently but I wanted to include a scene of Anakin trying to do Parent stuff and struggling and then _I_ struggled with writing it. Alas. But at least it's finally finished. I do have the next couple of parts mostly done - I just need to edit so those should be posted soon.
> 
> Thanks for reading and enjoy! :D
> 
> Edit: Oops, so I keep forgetting to add a disclaimer that I don't have much personal experience with newborns/infants/children but yeah, I don't. This is further complicated by the fact that what I do know probably doesn't apply to the SW universe considering that Anakin built a podracer (and raced it) at the age of 9 and Padme was the queen of a planet at the age of 14. Neither of which are feasible on Earth. So anyway, I figure that either all humans mature faster in their galaxy or Anakin and Padme are geniuses. But either way, the twins would probably develop relatively fast, right? At least mentally and intellectually? I don't know.

"Are you sure you're doing that correctly? They didn't cry this much when Master Kenobi was feeding them," a young male voice says (a little snarkily, Anakin notes) while Anakin's sitting in the Temple commissary one day trying to get a crying Leia to drink some milk. Next to her on the table, Luke fusses in his infant carrier and Anakin knows that he's just minutes away from making _his_ displeasure loudly known. Anakin kind of wants to cry himself.

Anakin turns and narrows his eyes at the Padawan who's materialized at his elbow. The boy looks slightly familiar, though he can't quite place him. "Thank you for your input but unless you have something helpful to say...?"

The Padawan doesn't seem to feel chastised at all, staring in fascination at the babies.

"Padawan...?" Anakin finally prompts, giving up on the attempted baby feeding for the moment. He needs a break, anyway.

"Caleb Dume," the boy answers promptly. And oh, now Anakin remembers him.

"Master Billaba's Padawan. You know, Obi-Wan was very impressed with your question about the Temple beacon."

That gets Caleb's attention. His eyes brighten and he grins. "Really? Master Kenobi remembered that?"

Anakin smiles back, feeling endeared by the boy's pleasure. "Yes. You gave him something new to think about. He always takes note when that happens." He looks back at Leia who, now that he's not trying to force to eat, has calmed down a bit. "So. How exactly did Obi-Wan manage to feed them without them crying?"

Caleb shrugs. "He just held them and gave them a bottle." A handful of Padawans get up and make for the exit and Caleb glances over. "Excuse me, Knight Skywalker, I have to go. My afternoon lecture is starting."

Anakin nods in dismissal and turns back to Leia. "That's it?" he mutters to himself. "There has to be more to it than that." But he sets down the bottle and goes to lift Leia out of her infant carrier. She starts screaming almost immediately and Anakin winces, resisting the urge to set her right back down again.

He cradles her in his arms and shushes her. "Come on, Leia. Just eat something," he pleads, picking up the spoon full of food and waving it enticingly in front of her mouth. She turns her head and pulls what he would term a 'disgusted' face. "Please stop crying and eat. You'll feel better, I promise." She just screams in response. Anakin is already resigning himself to her first word being 'no.'

When Caleb returns two hours later, accompanied by some of his agemates, Anakin feels even more ragged. He's managed to feed Leia and resettled her in her carrier with a toy, at least, and is trying to feed Luke. 'Trying' being the operative word because he keeps spitting up more than he's swallowing. "How are you ever going to survive in the world if you don't eat, Luke? Come on, be reasonable!" Anakin mutters; all he wants is to just crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. He swears Luke is glaring at him.

"You're still feeding them?" Caleb asks, sounding unimpressed.

Anakin sighs and wonders at the impertinence in the new generation of Padawans. "Yes, Padawan, I am."

"Are you _sure_ you're doing it right?" another Padawan asks.

"No," Anakin admits glumly. "I don't have a kriffin' clue what I'm doing. Master Kenobi really knew how to do all this?" He finds that hard to believe. They haven't come across _that_ many younglings this age in their travels.

The Padawans collectively shrug. "He looked like he did, anyway. He was always reading a lot on his holopad when they slept. Or sometimes he'd read out loud to them. Stuff about how to soothe babies and how they learn," one of them volunteers.

"I helped him find holovids about childrearing - you know, how to carry them and rock them to sleep," another one says. Anakin knows he should find out their names but it's all he can do to even stay focused on what they're telling him. "I can show you, if you want," she adds and Anakin is close to begging and declaring her a saint. He manges to refrain, though.

"So...he researched. Yeah, that makes sense. Of course that's what he did." He feels oddly relieved. Perhaps there's hope for him too. "Did he have the babies with him all the time?"

"Not _all_ the time. Usually, they'd go back to their...mother, Senator Amidala, at night. But he'd have them a lot during the day. He brought them to lectures a couple of days. He invited Senator Amidala and Representative Binks to give a guest talk about Naboo in Intergalatic Politics. They compared the human civilization on the planet with the Gungans' in terms of family structure, politics, and socioeconomic factors and how that all contributed to the treaty they signed thirteen years ago," Caleb says.

"I see...." Anakin says and then his mind catches up to - "Wait, 'family structure'? What about it?" 

Caleb arches an eyebrow at him and Anakin makes a note to tell Master Gallia that he's been spending too much time with Obi-Wan but he answers obligingly. "That the Naboo primarily raise their children within a nuclear family - mother, father, and children. Often, the grandparents live nearby and help but it's not necessary; the parents split the childrearing responsibilities. On the other hand, the Gungans raise their children collectively, within a clan." 

"Oh," Anakin says faintly. He hadn't considered that. His mind starts racing. Does Padme expect for them to live together? Relocate to Naboo permanently so they can be near her parents? It makes sense; and Anakin's mom isn't around to help. He feels a sudden stab of grief. His mom...she didn't ever get to know Padme...never found out that Anakin married her...will never see her grandchildren. He blinks back tears and hurriedly puts Luke back into his carrier and gathers up all their things into the bag that Padme had given him to hold diapers, extra clothes, food, and toys for the twins. 

"Are you okay?" Caleb asks, sounding concerned and alarmed. 

He must be leaking his distress into Force, Anakin realizes and quickly reinforces his mental shields. "I'm fine," he says gruffly. He swings the bag over his shoulder and picks up a baby carrier in each hand. "I just need to go take care of something." 

He walks quickly out of the room, ignoring the stunned stares of the Padawans still standing by the table he had been sitting at. He's only peripherally aware of Mace standing by the door, frowning after him. When he gets back to his and Obi-Wan's quarters, he sets the carriers down on the low table in front of the sofa, drops the bag onto the floor, and collapses onto the sofa, head cradled in his hands. 

And there, in the relative comfort of the rooms he grew up in, surrounded by the familiar entangled Force presences of himself and Obi-Wan, and with his and Padme's children watching him curiously, he lets himself cry for the loss of all the could-have-beens that he's tried not to think about in the past three years since his mom died. 

* * *

What feels like hours later, but is probably just a quarter of an hour later, he notices Luke cooing and Leia giggling. 

Anakin looks up and sees the twins grinning at each other and stretching out their hands to each other, kicking their feet against the footrests of their carriers. He smiles and if it's a little wobbly, well, there's no one around who will say anything about it. 

Then he remembers - 

He bends down to rummage through the bag at his feet and emerges triumphantly to Luke watching him in interest; he reaches out with both hands and opens and closes them in the direction of the bottle that Anakin is now holding out. "Ready to eat, kiddo?" he asks with a chuckle as he picks him up from the carrier and settles him into his arms. His heart feels lighter already. 

He gets Luke started on the bottle of milk and leans back. One of Obi-Wan's robes is draped over the back of the sofa; Anakin considers moving it but Luke's already spotted it and grabbed onto it with one fist. So Anakin just leaves it and even slouches into it a bit (purely because Luke seems to like it). "She would have loved both of you," he tells them softly. 

Luke watches him solemnly from the other end of the bottle, as if he can understand and fully appreciate what Anakin's saying. He has Shmi's eyes, Anakin thinks. 

Leia coos. Anakin glances over and she smiles at him. Anakin smiles back and knows that they'll be okay. Between the three of them, he, Padme, and Obi-Wan will surely be able to figure out how to raise these children and give them a bright future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of angst snuck in. I'm sorry! I'm apparently incapable of writing pure fluff in Star Wars. I blame it on Anakin and Obi-Wan who are both totally messed up and have repressed way too many things. Anyway...I can't promise no more angst but I will try to end each chapter on a happy note. Because this is a feel-good fic, damnit.
> 
> Also, please note how Anakin just assumes that Obi-Wan will be one of the parenting units. =p
> 
> (Lastly, I know that Caleb and Depa are supposed to be in battle somewhere when Order 66 happens but they haven't been deployed yet here, which is why Caleb is still at the Temple. Also because I needed a Padawan with a name; I'm terrible with names.
> 
> Edit: I fixed Caleb's name and his Master. Thank you to Liz_isa_fangirl for pointing that out.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I can be found on [tumblr](http://likealeafonthewind.tumblr.com/) or [LJ](http://todriftornot.livejournal.com/) if anyone wants to come chat! :)


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